Our client, a privately held, pre-IPO clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the study of LAMP-mediated nucleic acid-based immunotherapy platform that is designed to utilize the body’s natural biochemistry to develop vaccines that have the potential to generate broad immune responses. The platform has a robust history of applications in various therapeutic areas, including infectious diseases, oncology, allergy, and autoimmune diseases.  They are primarily focused on applying the platform in oncology, where it could potentially have broad applications, including antigen-derived antibodies as biologics. The company has built a pipeline of four wholly-owned oncology programs, the lead of which is in a Phase 2 clinical study for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM).

They are hiring to support the discovery and development of novel antibody therapeutics building and expanding from the Platform. Our Company is a top-tier, pre-IPO biopharmaceutical company. We have collaborative relationships with premier academic labs including Duke University, University of Florida and The Johns Hopkins University. This position will focus on the design, generation, optimization, and characterization of protein-based modalities (including antibodies) to enable the development of effective therapies for immune-related disorders including cancer and autoimmune disease. You will assume a leadership role on projects and be responsible for the achievement of group goals predominantly through collaborative relationships with CROs as well as hands-on experimentation and data analysis. You will collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to prioritize product candidates for protein generation and coordinate biological characterization and validation of molecules both in vitro and in vivo. The ideal candidate will be a motivated, collaborative and innovative scientist with a proven ability to solve complex problems, who has the drive and self-motivation to work as a leader in an expanded field of discovery and establish protein engineering (antibody development) as an internal function while contributing significantly and directly to the development of therapies for patients in need. This position reports to the CSO.

Essential Functions

• Lead protein engineering and antibody development efforts in the design of advanced next generation biopharmaceuticals including management of CRO advanced antibody library screening and novel proprietary sequence development.
• Lead recombinant protein production both in-house and utilizing CRO’s.
• Independently design antibody and recombinant protein structures and protein sequences for evaluation in robust manufacturable mammalian expression systems.
• Responsible for molecular biology and vector construction including cell line construction for screening of design molecules.
• Work as a team with discovery research teams to characterize target specificity and activity of lead molecules with cell binding and cell signaling assays using flow cytometry and other invitro technologies.
• Assess recombinant protein quality attributes and manufacturability: such as stability, purity, heterogeneity, and activity through assays including cGE, cIEF, analytical SE, IEX, RP HPLC/UPLC), MALS, direct binding (Affinity and binding kinetics characterization) of lead molecules.
• Protein modeling including structural analysis and protein:protein docking.
• Design and execute experiments, analyze data, and troubleshoot methods.
• Maintain up-to-date lab notebook.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams on the biological characterization of designed molecules; build consensus around candidates and take a leadership role in data driven decision making through the assessment of data and evaluation of results.
• Communicate experimental design and results to team members and present updates.

Required Education and Experience

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biological Physics, Structural Biology, or related discipline with 5-10 years post-graduate experience in industry or academia.
• Detailed knowledge of and experience in antibody library screening, antibody development, protein design and engineering.
• A working knowledge of Immunology and immune cell engagement, including antibody structure/function relationships is preferred.
• Must have experience with analysis of protein-protein interactions using BLI, SPR or other relevant technologies.
• Well-versed in molecular biology, cloning, subcloning, and construct design with extensive hands-on experience.
• Skilled in multi-color flow cytometry.
• Experience with mammalian protein expression.
• Extensive experience and track record in protein purification (affinity, IEX, SEC) with demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, purified protein.
• Familiarity with or experience in any of the following is a plus: LC-MS (intact, peptide map, S-S bond mapping), protein analytical and biophysical techniques including DLS, SEC-MALS HPLC, SPR, biolayer Interferometry, IEC-HPLC, RP-HPLC, protein formulation, protein production and purification.
• Antibody characterization including binding affinity, stability, epitope binning.
• Multi-specific antibody or bioconjugate generation and characterization.
• Results-oriented and the ability to work in a fast-paced and collaborative environment.